Thank you to everyone who donated generously to fund our scholarships this year. Our fundraising for our 2015 scholarships is complete, but if you’d like to donate to Sirens itself, please visit our donation page to see the types of support we can most use.

We’re thrilled to say that the Sirens community raised the funds for eight scholarships in 2015. Please see our scholarships page for more information and how to apply.

Seven years ago, we created Sirens as a space to support and discuss the remarkable work of women in fantasy literature. As past Sirens attendees know, critical to that mission is including a wide array of voices in our community.

Why offer scholarships?

Sirens is an in-person conference, and attendance requires funds—which means that not everyone who wishes to is able to join us. Their absence makes both our conference and our community less vibrant.

Because each Sirens attendee comes with additional conference expenses, from food to registration bags, and because Sirens endeavors to keep its attendance cost as low as possible for everyone, Sirens does not have funds available to both present Sirens itself and to award scholarships. Previously, we have offered occasional scholarships, funded either by our staff or supportive donors, but we’ve never been able to offer nearly so many as we’d like. This year, we hope that you’ll help us raise the funds necessary to do so.

What kinds of scholarships will be available?

Scholarships will cover both a Sirens registration and a Sirens Shuttle ticket for each recipient. We’re hoping to receive enough funds to cover the following proposed scholarships, designed to serve a multitude of potential attendees. But in the event that we don’t, we will fund scholarships in the following order:

Con or BustCon or Bust helps people of color/non-white people attend science fiction and fantasy conventions. Sirens’s staff have donated Sirens registrations to Con or Bust in the past, but this year, Sirens would like to provide Con or Bust with three Sirens registrations and Sirens Shuttle tickets in order to help people of color/non-white people attend Sirens. Con or Bust will allocate these registrations according to its rules.

Programming Presenters
Every voice at Sirens is vital to the vibrancy and diversity of our conversations, but we always appreciate the skill, talent, and expertise that our accepted programming presenters have volunteered to share with our community. In the past, because of a generous donor, we were able to provide two presenter scholarships, and we’d like to again recognize exemplary programming proposals with financial support. This year, we’d like to award three accepted presentations with a Sirens registration and Shuttle ticket. (Selected presentations with co-presenters who have opted in for scholarship eligibility will share the funds across applicable presenters.) These are merit-based scholarships, and will be selected by a committee.

Financial Hardship
People sometimes say that money makes the world go round; we’d like to counter with the idea that generosity makes the world go round. Not all individuals who wish to attend Sirens can afford to do so, and you can help make Sirens a possibility for those who can’t. Sirens would like to award as many selected recipients as possible with a Sirens registration and Sirens Shuttle ticket, in the hopes that this will enable them to attend Sirens in the fall.

You can donate any amount to these scholarships, and if you choose to donate—no matter the amount—we will feature you, under your chosen name (or anonymous), on our website and in our program book. More importantly, both our Sirens team and our community will be grateful for your commitment both to those who might not otherwise be able to attend Sirens and to the diversity and inclusiveness of our community.

Donations for the scholarship program will be accepted through May 15.

As Sirens operates under the auspices of Narrate Conferences, Inc., a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, all donations are eligible for tax deduction within the United States. Sirens staff are, of course, not eligible for scholarships (and, in fact, purchase their Sirens registrations and tickets like any other attendee). Any leftover or unclaimed funds will be considered donations to Sirens. If you have any questions or concerns, please write Amy at (amy.tenbrink at sirensconference.org).

2 comments on “Help Us Fund Sirens Scholarships”

I’m signal boosting this like crazy! Martha Wells just reblogged this on her tumblr, and I’m hoping it reaches other authors too.

More voices at Sirens woo!

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